Dizzy Slopes
by Tokyhouse
Summary: Griff seems to be at the peak of his career. Unfortunately, after a visit from an old friend, his slope status becomes a little dizzy.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

_Okay, this is a relatively short chapter. I know it seems quite boring right now, but like all works of literature you need to gradually build up. This story will hopefully become more interesting, and I will add more description and all that good stuff. So, enjoy the beginning, it will be more climactic later on :D_

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"I can't stand _him_!" an angry voice growled. A few heads swivelled in the direction of the sound.

"Leave it be, Mac. He's just a kid," another voice murmured. The flush in Mac's cheeks brightened.

"You don't get it Allegra. How can someone so young beat out a veteran? It doesn't seem sane," Mac growled again.

Allegra rolled her eyes in disinterest. It was the same old story; each torn and worn page just repeated itself. Every time Mac would be beat out by "the kid" it caused for an ear ache for each of the circuit's contestants.

"All us other 'veterans' are fine when Griff wins. You just need to let go of your rivalry, you've had it for three years. The kid is sixteen now, he's barely a child anymore."

"He's still the youngest on the circuit. How does that not bother you?"

Allegra groaned and turned her attention to Viggo who was momentarily in his world of oblivion. Catching the stare of his fellow boarder, his brain switched thoughts and he smiled innocently.

"What?" Viggo questioned.

"Are you offended that Griff won today's race?" Allegra inquired.

Almost immediately Viggo removed his hands from his puffy snow board jacket and raised them into a shrugging motion. "The kid has talent, am I supposed to be offended? I'd rather be beat out by talent than luck."

Allegra smiled half-heartedly to keep it conformed and unnoticeable. She bobbed her head in the direction of Mac, "why can't you be like Viggo? Or the rest of us for that matter, we all accept our defeat," she stated. Mac's expression tweaked itself. His annoyed smirk plummeted into a frown and his eyes became darted with anger. His lower lip quivered as a few unpleasant words danced on his tongue. He stuttered briefly, yet no audible sound would allow itself out. Sensing that Mac's "all-terrifying" temper would soon be released, Allegra rested a hand on his shoulder. "You know you're just as good as him, just sometimes he has the upper hand. If you weren't good, you wouldn't be here," she cooed. Mac's expression toned down considerably.

"I guess you're right," he muttered. He still had a tinge of annoyance to his voice, yet it was nothing a little time wouldn't fix.

"I'm _always_ right." Allegra winked at him playfully and allowed her hand to drop gracefully down to her side. Mac rolled his eyes in discontent. She may have always been right, but she certainly wasn't modest about it.

"There's the Mac we all know. Chilled out, relaxed 'ol Mac," Viggo laughed. A couple subtle smiles were aimed in his direction. Viggo had the talent of releasing tension, frustration and sometimes anger from the room. It was mostly due to his oblivious attitude and laid back personality. Either way, it was a cherished ability. Mac patted the back of his much appreciated friend. Although Viggo hadn't always been around, both he and Mac had managed to develop quite a bonded relationship.

"Don't look now, but here comes Griff," Allegra warned. Mac stiffened attempting to keep a still smile. Instead it faded into a murky grin, one which made him look slightly maniacal. Fortunately, another profile trotted along the champion, it was Kaori. Mac relaxed slightly, although it bothered him that she was with Griff instead of himself.

Kaori skipped ahead playfully towards Mac and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Sorry about knocking you down today, it was all for the sport." She pressed her head into his chest hastily and then released him. A rosy colour crawled up Mac's face, immediately he dropped his gaze to the ground to mask his blushing.

Griff arrived at the small group and nudged Mac buoyantly. "Good race today Fraser; you had a good recovery after Kaori knocked you down, congratulations," he applauded happily.

The corner of Mac's mouth tweaked slightly. Allegra shot him a glare, "be nice," she mouthed.

Mac nodded subtly and turned to Griff, "thanks… little buddy," he buzzed. "How are you going to celebrate?"

The kid shrugged and glanced around the group. "Unlike all of you guys, I'm not legal to drink yet, so I certainly can't celebrate my winning by that. Unless-"

"No Griff!" the group barked in unison. Innocently Griff raised his hands in defence and let out a chuckle.

"Can't blame a kid for trying," he announced. "Truth be told, an old friend of mine is coming to visit. So we're just gonna hang-out up in my room."

Allegra peaked her eyebrow in interest. "And, who is this 'old friend' of yours?" she interrogated. Griff rolled his eyes. Allegra was always protective over who he hung out with, especially if it was a girl. Although all of the circuit's athletes had, had their experience with the opposite sex, Griff was yet to have his. This unfortunate situation made Allegra very uneasy about whom her "little buddy" was meeting up with.

"His name is Brandon, he's a _boy_. We've been friends since pre-school, don't worry Allegra," Griff sighed.

"Leave him be, Big Al. Like you said, he's barely a child anymore," Mac teased. Griff raised a brow. Mac was actually defending him? It hardly seemed believable. For years Mac would do anything to disallow Griff from having fun. He was simply too focused on his grudge to even let a smidge of niceness show toward him. Perhaps times were changing. Griff smirked triumphantly and patted Mac on the shoulder.

"Yeah, _Big Al_. Leave me be," Griff agreed.

Finally, Allegra let out a sigh of defeat. "You have a Super Pipe competition tomorrow, don't stay up too late," she cautioned.

"Speaking of Super Pipe, where's Elise?" Kaori butted in.

"Knowing her, she's out there practicing trying to hit every trick perfectly," Viggo replied.

"Or she's trying to seduce those out-of-town riders," Mac added with a light laugh.

"Try is not a word in Elise's dictionary. She's probably got one in bed right now," Griff chuckled.

"Guys! Be nice!" Kaori demanded. The group paused and glanced at her. Her expression seemed dead serious.

"Oh, come on Nishidake. You know we're only joking," Mac groaned.

Kaori's harsh expression softened a little and she let out a gentle sigh. "I know. She's just not here to defend hers-."

"Shit!" The gathering twisted toward Griff who was staring at the screen of his cell phone in disbelief. A few expressions changed to curiosity about why he appeared so flustered.

He glanced up frantically, "I have to go! Brandon's bus will be pulling in any minute."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

From here on the story is going to get relatively more climactic. I know this chapter is relatively short once again, but there's only so much I can do with this topic at the moment. I hope you enjoy :)

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Sitting cross legged on his bed had never felt so awkward for Griff. An eerie silence had set over the two boys. Suddenly, all of the reminiscing Griff had excitedly planned for had dissipated. Brandon didn't seem nearly as talkative as he had in his earlier years. As a child he and Griff were always so boisterous together. Now, they sat gawkily without a spoken word.

Brandon coughed dryly and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Been up to much?"

Griff stifled his laugh. Of course he had been up to something. He certainly didn't sit and twiddle his thumbs everyday for hours on end. To be polite, he shrugged modestly. "Snowboarding mostly, that's all I can do up here," he replied.

Brandon leaned forward a little. "That's all?" he questioned in an amazed tone. His eyes briefly examined the lodge room. It was relatively clean (minus the askew garments on the floor). There was nothing that differed itself from an average teenage bedroom.

"Yeah, basically; there isn't much else for me to," Griff muttered. "Were you expecting something different?"

Brandon shrugged shyly, "well you're kind of a super star y'know. I was kind of expecting you to have an extravagant life. One with lots of partying and cute girls following every move you make," he admitted.

It was a common misconception among the outsiders. Although there were adoring fans here and there, none of them obsessively stalked any of the boarders. At most they would ask for an autograph and a picture. But there were no encounters which made extreme measures a necessity.

"Sorry to disappoint," Griff sighed. He stretched out his legs in front of him. "We generally live a pretty leisurely life here. When we're not boarding we're either in our room or together."

Brandon nodded in a somewhat of a disinterested motion. This urged Griff to frown.

"Are you upset?" Griff coyly questioned.

"To be honest, your life is _boring_," Brandon rebutted.

Griff took minor offence to this. It wasn't his fault that his life was considered "boring". That was just the way the fame tended to play out in his case. Sure, the celebrities in Hollywood were pestered with thousands of shouting fans, but the athlete's lives weren't remotely like that. Perhaps if they had, had a prerequisite from the Hollywood world before they took up snowboarding the latter would be possible, but only Elise had that.

He refrained from lashing out. He swallowed a lump in his throat and took in a subtle breath of air. "To be honest, all you people expect too much," Griff retorted as calmly as possible. "What would make my life more 'extravagant'?" he quizzed.

"A scandal," Brandon said simply.

Griff tweaked his head slightly to the left. Brandon had managed to thoroughly peak his interest. "Why would I want that?" he scoffed.

"Well, scandals fuel all of Hollywood's gossip. If you're in a scandal, you'd be the talk of everyone," Brandon explained.

"You are _so _gay for knowing that," Griff teased. They both began to laugh in unison.

"No, in all seriousness, a scandal would make you _huge_."

Griff dropped his amused expression for one of concentration. Was something this extreme really necessary? All the other boarders had made it through their careers without craving the lust of fame. Up until this moment in time, the thought hadn't really tempted him all too much. The admiring fans seemed as though they would get tedious and be a large annoyance. Griff enjoyed his quiet peak life. It was humble, and offered benefits that most celebrities would never have.

"Wouldn't a scandal give me bad publicity?"

"You have to start somewhere."

_You have to start somewhere_. Those words stuck in Griff's head. They were the same words of encouragement his father had shared with him many years ago. Yet, Griff wasn't so sure that the same ones Brandon had just spoken were of true motivation. They felt hollow, and more like peer pressure than anything else. However, there was a piece of Griff that provoked him to follow the advice. It might have just been aroused curiosity, or it could have very well been true interest. There was only one way to confirm one theory.

Griff gulped, "what do you propose I do?"

Brandon gave him a sick smile. One that could make a psychopath feel ill.

"Where did you put my bags?"

Griff raised a nervous finger toward the closet. By now, he was feeling overwhelming regret. It was making his head spin. It was making him wish he had refused. But worst of all, it was making him anxious. He was anxious to do whatever Brandon had in store, and that emotion alone worried him the most.

Brandon lifted his body from the chair and eagerly advanced toward the sliding doors. Excitedly, he forced the door open, knelt down and leaned inwards. After brief moments of shuffling he pulled out a russet-coloured backpack and joined Griff on the bed.

"Ready?" Brandon whispered deviously.

Griff fidgeted, "yes," he managed to sputter.

To add suspense Brandon sluggishly unzipped the bag. This caused Griff to continue his nervous bustles. Brandon pried the two sides of the bag away from each other and dove his hand in. After a few ephemeral seconds he began to raise the item out of the bag.

Griff gasped.

Brandon smirked.

The light created a glimmer along the darkened glass. The liquid swished around inside.

The label read "40%".


End file.
